Kitchen Mission Statement

We believe that food service is an integral part of our camp community. Breaking bread together helps to create a sense of community and comfort. We pledge to provide whole food that is nutritious, healthy, alive in flavor, aesthetically pleasing, and presented reverently to our guests and staff. We are committed to providing food services that support a sustainable future. We incorporate the community philosophy of Camp Augusta to maintain and develop a healthy social and working environment. We pledge to take a stand on many issues surrounding our food supply, creating a socially responsible environment. To this end, we strictly adhere to the following principles:

We provide meals that are 92-100% organic.

Everything we serve is freshly prepared from scratch using authentic ingredients.

Menus and recipes are created by the management team based upon feedback from our campers and community. The Camp Augusta Kitchen has the unique practice of empowering chefs to make creative decisions in menu planning.

We use healthy cooking techniques such as steaming, broiling or grilling to maintain the flavor and nutritional value of the food.

We provide sustainable and locally grown produce, chicken, beef and pork whenever possible. Many of our ingredients are served within 24 hours of harvest.

Our oils and sweeteners are the highest standard available.

These principles foster many partnerships within our local community. We recognize the role we fill in these relationships and take great care to honor our partnerships.

Director's Statement

Meet Our Chef

Sample Menus

Lazy Dog

Food Allergies

Kitchen Video

Director's Statement

So, I’ve (Director) been in camping for 20+ summers now at 17 different camps, and I’ve seen all kinds of food hit the plate!

Camp Augusta kitchen staff make much of our food from scratch. Bread, pancake mix, desserts, and pizza crusts are made by hand. Sauces, salsas and soups are made from basic ingredients, not out of ready-to-eat containers. There are almost no “heat and serve” products used in this kitchen, the only exception being tortellini.

Camp Augusta has a much larger kitchen staff proportionally than other camps, but these community members are used to putting hours of preparation into the meals. It would be easier to buy frozen chicken fingers and pre-made brownies, but we are able to use fresh ingredients that don’t need to be pre-processed. Wherever possible, the most basic ingredients are purchased in bulk to be prepared by our staff instead of spending more on processed foods.

The menu is designed to be simple and camper friendly, but also to include a healthy balance of nutrition. Weekly feedback is taken from the campers to find out what meals were liked and disliked and how they could be improved. Some meals were discontinued or revamped because of this information.

Every lunch and dinner at Camp Augusta has a full salad bar with an array of fresh vegetables, salads, hummus, hand-made dressings and fresh fruits. Fresh fruit is also available at all times to the campers and staff throughout the day.

We don’t serve candy, chips, croutons on the salad bar, iceberg lettuce, tater tots, or other high fat, low nutrition, or high sugar foods. We do serve a dessert daily, at dinner.

A few other kitchen notes . . . We compost food scraps and weigh food waste. We use whole grains and serve gluten free to those requesting it. Cooked, prepared, vegetarian options are always offered, and vegan options by request. We don’t heat anything up in plastic. We recycle everything we can and use bulk containers whenever possible.

Meet Our Chef

For as long as she can remember, Barbara Linares has great memories about travel and food. The daughter of an airline executive, she traveled around the world twice before the age of 16! She was fascinated with the flavors and presentation of food and amazed at the overlap around the globe.

Barbara is entering her seventh year at Camp Augusta as the Kitchen Manager. Her adult life education and experiences include 3 major careers; dentistry, education, and culinary arts. For over 35 years, her passion and interest lives in the quickly changing and expanding natural food industry. Her knowledge of whole and organic nutrition has been both a personal and professional endeavor.

Taking elements from her biography, Barbara enjoys her camp chef experience. Her love of art and children translates into detail and presentation of her daily menu offerings. She offers her passionate service to ensure guests and children receive healthy and enjoyable offerings. Barbara had developed close relations with our vendors and farmers, who call the Camp Kitchen the “best secret in town”, and offers them meals when they make deliveries. It’s no wonder most of our deliveries are during breakfast and lunch! Barbara loves calling Nevada City home, and in the offseason you will find her dancing, reading, hiking, swimming, in the theater, or spending time with her family and friends.

Lazy Dog is a local company (about 5 miles away on Lazy Dog road) that makes all their own ice cream — just the husband and wife together! They do not have a store front, instead going to local festivals and setting up their stand. Twice a week, they come by Camp Augusta after dinner. Campers choose from over 30 handmade flavors of bars, drumsticks, or fruit freezes.

Food Allergies

Camp Augusta Food Allergy Plan

A Summary for Campers, Guests and Staff

Updated April 2018

Overview:

We utilize our best efforts to make camp safe for those with food allergies and do not knowingly serve food to an individual that contains products we know the individual is allergic to. We sometimes serve items as a condiment or on our cereal bar that are clearly labeled when there are individuals on site that have reported an allergen. Despite our comprehensive efforts, there always exists the possibility that food or other items that contain, or have had contact with, allergens can be brought into camp. While we are an “allergy aware” facility, we do not guarantee that we are “allergen free”. As always, please contact us if you have any concerns about this or any other matter at camp.

If there is an allergy to food items, indicate the food allergy on the registration forms and submit a *FARE Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan with a physician’s signature.

Provide any epinephrine and/or antihistamine prescribed by a medical provider for the individual’s allergy treatment plan in their original containers with the prescription.

If there is an allergic reaction from contact with food (as opposed to only with ingestion): we require confirmed notice at least 6 weeksin advance of the individual’s arrival to camp, including if the contact allergy is life threatening.

Please include a note in the “other directions/information” field of the FARE to indicate the need for contact precautions.

Please also email office@campaugusta.org and coordinate a time to connect with a kitchen staff member to discuss your needs.

For individuals on desensitization or maintenance programs during the session: please connect with the Camp August office elves (before registration) to discuss whether we will be able to meet your medical needs.

During our pre-session meeting, we will inform all staff of any life threatening allergies, including who the individual is, and what to do in the event of a reaction (as per the FARE Plan submitted by the parent).

Maintain an appropriate sense of confidentiality and respect for privacy.

Assure that appropriate personnel are familiar with the use of epinephrine, where medication is located, and the protocol.

Staff not trained to administer epinephrine may be able to assist the individual in administering their own medication.

We may still serve foods that an individual is allergic to during their time at camp (depending on serverness of allergy) but will make reasonable accommodations to not serve that food to the individual with the allergy.

Offsite Trips and Overnights

All trips will have either a ResQLink, a SPOT, or other Personal Locator Beacon, which sends a GPS location to emergency services when they are activated.

All staff will show campers where this device is and how to use it in case of emergency.

Trips that go to sites that are more than 30 minutes drive time away from a medical center will have a certified Wilderness First Responder (WFR) attend with them*

All one-week or longer Wilderness Trips will carry a satellite phone which will allow them to contact camp and emergency services if needed, as well as a Garmin Inreach Explore Device which allows them to text and email camp in real time.

*Trips off site that are within a 30 minute car ride to the nearest medical center, require only a first aid trained staff member, not a WFR. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please let us know right away.

Availability of Emergency Care On and Offsite

Any staff member can direct the office staff to call for an ambulance in the case of an emergency.

Ambulance response times to our site range from 8-30 minutes, with most arriving within 15 minutes.

The nearest hospital is Sierra Nevada Memorial, 5.1 miles from camp.

The hospital has a 24-hour emergency room with a physician on duty.

On trips away from the Camp Augusta Residential Site groups carry a Personal Locator Beacon to contact our office and emergency services.

What We Do Not Guarantee:

The items that may be of caution for nut allergies are food products that “may have been processed around/with nuts”. In our kitchen- this means tahini, breakfast cereals, and other products may contain traces of nuts. If you or your child has a severe allergy, arrange to speak with the kitchen manager about which foods to avoid. Although this food is marked and labeled during service, it is your responsibility to gain this knowledge and manage your allergens.

We serve Lazy Dog Ice Cream that has nut and nut-free options. 150-200 people eat ice cream that may be processed in a facility with nuts, causing a possible opportunity for cross contamination.

Cross contamination from food brought into camp from an outside source.

Signature of Parent/Guardian: ______________________________________

Printed Name of Parent/Guardian: ______________________________________

Name of Camper(s): __________________________________________________________________________